Imagine the record execs sitting at a board meeting, looking at their financial numbers, in a panic over the state of the company and the music industry in general. The company’s Hip-Hop sales have struggled – a waning roster thinned out by incarcerations and mental breakdowns has crushed the label’s star power. No matter how much money they pump into a Hip-Hop album, and how many fans artist A seems to garner, the label can’t seem to get numbers above 100K.

The wheels start turning. Interests are piqued as executives realize if they can skim some money from artists’ outside endeavors then they can offset the disappointing album sales by scraping in the extra dough. The Internet isn’t earning them any money so it’s time to fully embrace the other multimedia avenues that have been under their noses forever. Consumer money is elastic but movies, TV shows and clothing companies have an unending pool of endorsement cash.

But how does this label tap into this money? Rappers are full of curse worse and their albums are unpredictable. If Rapper A sends the execs a 14-track album full of gritty bars, it won’t get any love from Jersey Shore. So the label starts a search, screening possible crossover hits with already-finished hooks from soft R&B artists backed by xylophones and synths. Perhaps the label even shops the skeletal track to movies looking for songs for its preview. Or they pitch it towards TV shows looking for a track to play during the dramatic monologue of the pilot episode before the rapper even lays a vocal down. Once Sponsor A bites, the label zips the song to the rapper and demands that he made the track his next single regardless of how it gibes with the rest of his album or his library to date. F*ck his loyal fanbase. They don’t buy albums anyway.

The album, full of sponsorship-ready tunes, is released. The singles have already reached top spots on the charts and are in every commercial on television, so they’re primed to score hundreds of thousands of units in its first week. But even if it doesn’t, the label is swimming in extra revenue from the cross-promotions even if an artist didn’t sign a 360 deal. Additionally, you better believe the label is working contracts that offer guarantee at least some of the bread from advertising. It’s a win/win for the label. That’s how the record label has combated the shrinking album sales.

And that seems to be how Atlantic Records has decided to go about business…at least that’s my hypothesis.

I remember when I first heard “Nothing On You” and thought that it was a gross misstep. Why would anybody have a lead single for B.o.B where he just raps and doesn’t sing the hook? I realized the move was probably more calculated than I had originally thought once I heard the way that song, “Airplanes” and “Magic” were on commercials, television shows and movie previews, combined with the fact that “Nothing On You” was a song Atlantic gave B.o.B. Let’s not forget it was rumored that Atlantic was going to shelve Adventures Of Bobby Rayuntil Bobby signed a 360 deal. I’m not sure if that ever happened but they did eventually work out their disagreement. Suddenly, “Magic” is on Adidas spots and “Airplanes” is on movie previews – helping propel those tracks to number one in the country; a similar trajectory subsequently followed by the album. Atlantic had a winning formula.

Luckily for B.o.B, his innate ability to create compelling tracks made The Adventures Of Bobby Ray an artistic success despite the three watered-down songs.

Fast forward to 2011 and the two most highly-anticipated albums of the young year so far are Lasers and Rolling Papers. And they’re both full of microwaved synthy gibberish. We know “Show Goes On” was Atlantic’s idea, and that song had plenty of cross-promotion. I can only assume that Atlantic sold the song to sponsors before it even got shoved down Lupe’s throat.

Wiz Khalifa’s Rolling Papers is all sing-songy softcore “Hip-Hop” that, to borrow from whoever said this on Twitter the other day, sounds more like LFO than anything from Kush and OJ. The fans are disappointed but, quite frankly, Atlantic probably couldn’t give a shit. The label is sitting pretty with two hundred thousand records sold and countless cross-promotional dollars in their pocket.

The company doesn’t need the Internet anymore. They’re winning, so who cares what the rest of us want to listen to.

Join The Discussion

"On Wiz, Rolling Papers & Atlantic, The Label That Has It All Figured Out"

04.03.11 at 10:10 pm

Alright

B.o.B. & Wiz used to go hard but now they soft and rich.

04.03.11 at 10:20 pm

rob

mixtapes are where to find good music now..in today’s market, the artist must make music for the label in order to be rich. don’t worry, wiz khalifa’s cabin fever was similar to his old work and rolling papers was made for the label. funny because the better music happens to be free nowadays.

04.03.11 at 10:26 pm

Tailsnake

As long as they leave the artists to their own devices on mixtapes, this isn’t much of an issue. Yes these albums weren’t all that they could’ve been, but B.o.B.’s No Genre was tight, Wiz’s Cabin Fever was solid, and Lupe’s Enemy of The State came hard so fuck the weak albums that Atlantic ruined.

04.03.11 at 10:28 pm

Gotty™

Lupe’s Enemy of The State came hard so fuck the weak albums that Atlantic ruined.
============
I was w/you until you said that part.

And I still like BoB’s album but I fully understand why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

04.03.11 at 10:31 pm

Gz Up

Wiz album a weed plate… went to the rolling papers release party in nyc, started offf strong with shit off cabin fever but then lost all momentum with the slow shit from kush n oj and all the garbage from the new album, best thing about the show was bringing out trae the truth for the first song he did…

04.03.11 at 10:34 pm

Justin Boland

Best music biz writing I’ve read so far this year, this was fucking excellent, thank you.

04.03.11 at 10:34 pm

J. Tinsley

F*ck his loyal fanbase. They don’t buy albums anyway.

====================

HELLO!!

I do like that “Star Of The Show” track on Rolling Papers.

04.03.11 at 10:38 pm

Deen

Luckily for B.o.B, his innate ability to create compelling tracks made The Adventures Of Bobby Ray an artistic success despite the three watered-down songs.

^^^

*Chuckles*

04.03.11 at 10:39 pm

TC

Lupe’s Enemy of The State came hard so fuck the weak albums that Atlantic ruined.
============
I was w/you until you said that part.

^^^

Agreed.

TSS was in the comment section with our hands crossed, unimpressed.

04.03.11 at 10:42 pm

Chris

Jury’s still out on Lupe until his next album drops… or at least I’d like to think so. OK with giving him the benefit of the doubt hoping that he comes back with something sharp. But Wiz is doing the friendly corporate pothead thing, a la Snoop, now that he’s secured the gig–fine for what it is… would still say RP is better than Lasers… but neither hold much repeat listen value.

04.03.11 at 10:48 pm

J. Tinsley

Lupe’s Enemy of The State came hard so fuck the weak albums that Atlantic ruined.
============
I was w/you until you said that part.

============================

Didn’t that come out around the same time as Weezy’s “No Ceilings”? Yeah, I listened to EOTS like twice and forgot about it. Unimpressive.

04.03.11 at 10:54 pm

Wily E

The future of the music industry has and always will lay in the artist hands. They have to have the balls to boss up and make the music they want to make. Atlantic thinks they have a winning formula on to this new internet strategy, but it will only get them so far. The key to getting people to buy music is for it to be good, good promotion, and then keeping the final package a secret until release day. Nowadays it’s so easy to get music it’s fucking ridiculous. This just what I think though don’t mind me

04.03.11 at 10:58 pm

armen

seems like a legit arguement, but think its overcreditting how well everything worked out for bob n wiz. film/tv/ad placements for the most part is dependent on the publishing side handling all that work with media placement and the dollars bob-universal wiz-warner chappell.

BoB def has the ability to spit hard music, but def had those watered down mainstream hits..personally dont feel wiz has the same ability and has limited topics he can rap about, but atlantic definitely set the tone and created it to mesh with the pop lane. From what it seems, wiz was cool and on board with that mentality-hes grinded enough on the mixtape lane and he wanted to get the money-hence his linking up with stargat for black and yellow and rollup. Wiz was more than happy to jump on those pop tracks and get those mainstream dollars.

Atlantic’s got the formula of making hip hop translate into pop singles, but i think all the placements, etc all working out is giving them a little to much credit.

Lupe’s Enemy of The State came hard so fuck the weak albums that Atlantic ruined.
============
I was w/you until you said that part.

^^^

Agreed.

TSS was in the comment section with our hands crossed, unimpressed.

————

It started off with great momentum then he seemed like he ran out of gas with the concept.

04.03.11 at 11:06 pm

Willie P

The future of the music industry has and always will lay in the artist hands. They have to have the balls to boss up and make the music they want to make.
—————————————————-
So this is why J. Cole just doesn’t have an album out…or ready, it seems.

Now I know…

04.03.11 at 11:10 pm

TC

And I still like BoB’s album but I fully understand why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

^^^

Agreed again. All of the song’s are good. It’s just not what you wanted to hear from him. Big difference between that and wack music.

04.03.11 at 11:15 pm

ignite mindz

I like this article.

04.03.11 at 11:16 pm

CaniBlog?

NO fucking way! EOTS was ill, as short as it was Lupe spit freely and surpassed the original raps on the those songs, Go back and listen to that tape again and hear what I’m saying.

“I mean come on, I mean look at what I’m droppin’ here
Do this for the block and the blogosphere
No, you ain’t ready for the heavy, so I’ll keep it light as joggin’ gear
I don’t want the throne, I want the helicopter rocking chair
Jay gave me a co-sign like I was RocaWear, but be clear I’m not the air (heir)
I’m the water, fire and the earth;
That means I’m doin’ dirt, spittin’ flames and quenchin’ thirst,
And plus the real God has been on my side since birth
I hope that he forgives me, I hope I do his work in every single verse,
Now I might do a dance, I might even jerk, tell them n****s don’t hate
Only God is great, Enemy Of The State”

-Popular Demand Freestyle

04.03.11 at 11:48 pm

Kevin

Enemy Of The State left me unimpressed. I don’t want to hear someone freestyling over popular beats in this day and age when dudes are giving away album quality material. Lupe doesn’t get a pass just because he is Lupe.

As for Rolling Papers, I’ve been a Wiz fan leading up to this, but this shit is straight cotton candy bullshit. It’s a teeny bopper album about weed and fuckin’ other dudes bitches.

04.03.11 at 11:48 pm

bruno aka mynameisjason

^ it seems as if thes sentiments hav inspird lasers….

04.03.11 at 11:49 pm

bruno aka mynameisjason

not u kev I meant caniblog?

04.04.11 at 12:15 am

Chris

I liked every song on ‘The Adventures Of Bobby Ray’ that wasn’t “Nothing On You”, “Airplanes” or “Magic”.

04.04.11 at 12:35 am

ATI

Solid and much-needed post aside from the comment about B.o.B.’s album.

p.s. I gotta give TC the side eye for implying that “Magic” is in any way a good song.

I wasn’t fully convinced that it wasn’t a matter of circumstance with Lupe and Wiz Khalifa. Lupe didn’t have a single in the top 20 and sold 200k+ his first week. Considering the drop-off in sales after week 1, you have to think his loyal fanbase gets a lot of credit on that one. And did Wiz really need a watered down pop album to do 200k? That doesn’t seem that significant to me, considering he has built up a large following over the past few years and is the biggest new rap artist since Drake.

Though I do think that Atlantic’s hide-the-rap strategy is definitely more conducive to sustained commercial success – all three albums have a well of clear-cut “single” type records that have done/will do well on radio, and like it’s been argued, are ripe for other crossover moves.

Rolling Papers might actually be a weaker effort than Lasers, and that’s saying something. Really disappointing after enjoying Kush & OJ. I was surprised how much the label raped his sound because he already displayed some pop sensibilities in his independent work – even Black and Yellow was a huge record and he accomplished that without completely sacrificing his integrity.

Seems like Curren$y had the right idea.

04.04.11 at 12:56 am

thestakesishigh

great insight into why I’ve been dissapointed three times by artists I was really excited for. Hopefully Warner Bros doesn’t do this with Curren$y…

04.04.11 at 1:02 am

jderrida

Great article, but why take the time to type it?

Major labels want to make money to continue operations and possibly make a sizable profits. However the labels make their money doesn’t matter. Album sales to endorsement deals it all depends upon the music. Thus the music has to sound like something A LOT OF PEOPLE will either listen to OR BUY. A HIP HOP ALBUM RAP FANS WANT TO HEAR AND OR BUY DOESN’T SELL WELL UNLESS YOUR KANYE WEST. So naturally Lupe, Bob and Wiz’s albums were going to like pop music.

I thought we all figured this out by now?

04.04.11 at 1:04 am

jderrida

even Black and Yellow was a huge record and he accomplished that without completely sacrificing his integrity.

————————————————————————–

Sure….

04.04.11 at 1:06 am

jderrida

Seems like Curren$y had the right idea.

————————————————————————–

Or maybe Curren$y will go pop as well? We don’t know the actual aspects and details of his deal. Curren$y may have notice Wiz and Lupe go pop gaining them cash and not lose their entire fan base, and figures he can do it himself.

04.04.11 at 1:53 am

ATI

As over-glossed and sonically thin as Rolling Papers is, at the very least Black & Yellow was a change from the Bruno Mars/Skylar Grey chokehold on mainstream rap – what was the last single before it to go #1 on the pop charts with JUST rapping on it?

As for Spitta potentially trying to go pop, good luck with that considering his pop sensibilities are minimal and he’s aesthetically very similar to Wiz.

04.04.11 at 1:54 am

Big Homie Prof. Oak

^you trippin cuz. Curren$y can’t write a pop-y, radio hook to save his life. (im not bashing spitta, but cmon “michael knight michael knight x 6″ wont get you radio play son)

Spitta is dope and I think he’s crafted his lane.

04.04.11 at 1:57 am

Matt

I have faith that Curren$y will not change as drastic as Wiz has. Curren$y’s beats are all awesome and they seem to have a sound that is very limited to Curren$y’s work. He has released consistent tapes that all shock me to why he isn’t as big as or bigger than wiz. Props to currensy for keeping it legit!

04.04.11 at 1:57 am

Caveman

The future of the music industry has and always will lay in the artist hands. They have to have the balls to boss up and make the music they want to make.
—————————————————-
So this is why J. Cole just doesn’t have an album out…or ready, it seems.
Now I know…
__________________

Damn I’ve been waiting for the date forever….Stay strong J. Cole

04.04.11 at 2:15 am

Shail

Co-sign David D. Solid writeup.

04.04.11 at 3:43 am

thecool11o3

The sad truth. The Majors don’t care/nvr cared about the culture, which sucks.

So, depending on your perspective…where would an artist flourish more? Is it even wise to join with a major label anymore? Man, so many questions..

I think this statement can also apply to Wiz (after further listens), it’s not what I was fully expecting but I can see it’s potential from the commercial aspect.

04.04.11 at 4:15 am

jderrida

As over-glossed and sonically thin as Rolling Papers is, at the very least Black & Yellow was a change from the Bruno Mars/Skylar Grey chokehold on mainstream rap – what was the last single before it to go #1 on the pop charts with JUST rapping on it

———————————————————————–

You consider the Rap Wiz did on Black Yellow something of an achievement? I assume you think that as long as he is not rapping like Lil B, he rapping?

Rapping over a pop beat is hip hop? Rapping over a beat Katy Perry or Rihanna would sing over is adequate rapping? Hip hop requires more than barely rapping…..

04.04.11 at 4:18 am

jderrida

^you trippin cuz. Curren$y can’t write a pop-y, radio hook to save his life. (im not bashing spitta, but cmon “michael knight michael knight x 6? wont get you radio play son)

Spitta is dope and I think he’s crafted his lane

———————————————————————–

Curren$y just needs Bruno Mars or whatever famous hook mercenary and sloppy second lady gaga beats.

Spitta is dope and has a great lane.

Don’t mean he can’t or won’t drop a black and yellow.

04.04.11 at 4:31 am

jderrida

How can you sell a million copies of a true to form, hip hop inspired album without sacrificing the artist integrity or sound in 2011?

Can commercialize music create rap albums of substantial artistic integrity and progressive or decent music?

Are artist mandated to produce music the public ONLY wants to hear from them and for go any attempts at amassing new fans by creating new songs that may not reflect the sensibilities of their older fans?

Can we blame the misfortune of the recording industry upon consumers who download music illegal, not taking into account the direct and indirect negative influences it has on the industry? Also, should we reconsider lowering the blaming of the condition of the recording industry upon artist or labels?

These questions are debated everyday in many different blog comment sections. Why?

FANS GET GREAT MUSIC OFFERED TO THEM EVERYDAY! REGARDLESS OF WHO GETS PAYED, WHETHER ITS ON A MIX-TAPE OR ALBUM OR MADE BY A TALENTED STARVING ARTIST OR UNAUTHENTIC RICH HACK.

Why bitch if you stay winning?

04.04.11 at 7:26 am

The Drewbot

I’m no guru but I’m wondering, (and I’m already forming aguements against this in my head) maybe if the labels stopped chasing pop fans and made albums with good integrity fans would actually support.

I would gladly go out and pay for No Genre and recomend it to all my friends but I didn’t really speak much Bobbys Adventures, even after I wen’t out cold turkey and suppourted day one. It left my kind of sour being a young fan semi-new to buying CDs

And that’s how I learnt that I wasn’t going to pay for Rolling Papers or Lasers.

04.04.11 at 8:06 am

Smear

fuck atlantic 4 what they did to saigon.
their current blueprint was laid out with the currently incarcerated t.i’s paper trail.

04.04.11 at 9:45 am

Greed

I think you’re giving Atlantic way too much credit for the success of Lasers and Rolling Papers.

Rolling Papers could have done two hundred thousand easily, just with black and yellow and Wiz’s actual style of music.

Lasers only did 200k because of Lupe’s fan base. So why not let him make the album he wants? Lasers would have sold more units if it had been dope.

“National Anthem” and “Yoga Flame” are both dope songs off Enemy of the State for the record. I wouldn’t call it a solid mixtape, as it has no original beats and is fairly short, but it has its moments.

04.04.11 at 9:46 am

jmocken

I think I’ve bought more albums on bandcamp recently than I did through a major all last year. The artists have more creative control which leads to better music, and there’s a lot less overhead which (I assume) means more of my dollars go to them rather than to recouping a label’s money.

04.04.11 at 11:13 am

itsmaverick

Curren$y will not sell out- he has had too much time put into the underground mixtapes, and it seems like he has a good view on the big picture of the rap game. I agree that he has found his own style, his own voice- hopefully it’s one that stay off the radio.

The day I hear Spitta on JAM’N 94.5 I will turn in my ITunes collection and call it quits

04.04.11 at 11:27 am

joey

At the end of the day though, what you people need to realize, is that there still no money in the music industry.

Going platinum on a $12 album used to be 12 million dollars and lots of exposure + eventual licensing.

Going platinum on a single is $1 million and licensing doesn’t pay what it used to.

The music business is for fun, not for money. IF you want to be a real baller, go into another industry – something in technology.

04.04.11 at 11:43 am

atxrocker

curren$y has to be one of the most overrated rappers ever in the game. i’ve never seen a weed rapper who is boring as fuck get so much love. to each their own i guess.

04.04.11 at 12:03 pm

no

Lupe needs to off himself for real.

04.04.11 at 12:16 pm

B-Moore

Seriously, anybody bitchin about RP didnt start listening to Wiz until Kush & Oj… & you should kill yourself ASAP… Son been singing since Prince of the City Rollin Papers sounds just like Wiz creatively… Catchy hooks, water down lyrics, & hot ass song structure

04.04.11 at 12:27 pm

Willie P

I don’t think we should call it “selling out.” Eventually you’re gonna be left with a choice and thats put some radio singles on the record and get a lil bit of promotion, or don’t and not get your music heard no matter what.

Its not like Wiz went thru a bunch of label issues with his song selection, these are the songs he actualy wanted to make. If you look at Wiz’s progression you can easily tell that he was on his way to Rolling Papers. Lupe, as much as he has said he made it a label friendly album(to me that shits on all the protesters who wanted that shit, but he…), in every interview he has backed the music on the album. He disparaged the process, but he upheld the music. So how do we know that he didn’t wanna make shit like “I Don’t Wanna Care”? Bobby’s record was inconsistent to me on ‘Adventures’ and it didn’t have staying power, but it had all his styles within it. So thats what we got.

What’s the last album that satisfied a core audience and sold well?? Wiz didn’t have to make Rolling Papers but I’m not shocked by the sound of it. He’s made music like this before. I don’t hate the album at all. In his case his momentum was so strong that it would’ve been better if he turned in a Kush & OJ instead of Rolling Papers. He was going to sell regardless. But the same fans bitching are the same ones who weren’t buying the album anyway. I support all the artist I’m fans of but not everyone thinks like me.

The future of the music industry has and always will lay in the artist hands.
——————————————————————
The industry has never been in the artists hands. The industry is and has always been reactionary. Thats just the way it is. Thats why when your favourite rapper releases a major-label debut, the consumer bitches about them selling out or something ridiculous like that. Rule #4080. You might as well assume that the artist has “sold out” the second they put their Herbie Hancock on the dotted line.

Although upon my first couple listens Rolling Papers sounds like it was executive-produced by Blink 182, it is essentially still an album all about partying and smoking weed. Did Wiz sell out then, if he’s talking about the same subject matter as prior to RP? Or is it maybe just his artistic direction. We got Cabin Fever and RP within what, 2 months of each other tops. You don’t like CF, listen to RP. You don’t like RP, listen to CF. Maybe you just don’t like Wiz at all. I think its ridiculous (and speaks to the too fickle nature of rap fans) that this has turned into a convo about, is Spitta gonna sell out. Fuckouttahere. IF, and this is a Star Jones x Precious sized IF, his album is poppy and aimed towards him padding his pockets, w/e. Jetsfool.blogspot has a ton of Curren$y records a click away.

I don’t understand why people are so surprised by WIz mixtapes going harder then his albums. this is a pattern of his..I mean I def. don’t think Deal or no Deal is gonna win any grammy’s anytime soon in this lifetime… No disrespect he’s not mainstream material if he’s actually gonna try & make mainstream/popular music, only because his roots are built on a whole different sound of music then what he’s producing now, so the fans he earned in the beginning on the “indie” circuit are forever gone feel let down & might even go as far as calling him a sale out! Once he bagged amber rose, thats all I needed to see to verify he’s official is in the “hollywood” crowd now.

04.04.11 at 4:16 pm

Universal Indie

I see it from both directions.

Too many cats try to make records “for their block” which while cool.. doesn’t feed anyone. As a business, the label has bigger aspirations and making music for your boys who would rather download your album for free as opposed to paying for it. There’s money to made and the labels vision has to BE BIGGER THAN THE BLOCK.

Did Wiz and B.O.B. make hood albums? No! But I’ve heard white girls with “Airplane” ringtones..and like the article stated he had movie placements. Yeah the “streets” might not have liked the song but when THEY ACTUALLY START BUYING RECORDS AGAIN then they can talk other wise they should probably shut the fuck up. Some of you try to “keep it so real” that you can’t see beyond your hood.. and as a result.. will probably be stuck in the same spot for life.

Wiz, BOB and Atlantic are all eating! I’m sure they’re not complaining. You other dudes want the shit they put out on mixtapes? Take your asses to store then instead of complaining!

04.04.11 at 4:41 pm

Musically Addicted

The sad thing is you guys must not really listen to Wiz! If you did you would know that his music is very diverse anyways, so his album rolling papers was true to himself.. and why does everyone have to put labels on artists? I personally think that wiz makes the type of music he wants to make, and I’m sure he wouldn’t let a Atlantic Records change him like Warner Bros tried to… In my opinion Wiz been staying true to his fans.. they are the only ones who matter anyways, not some Lame critics!

04.04.11 at 5:23 pm

ADrake22

Great write up and lots of good post but a lot of people really slept on EOTS… it was good, tons of lyrics. Maybe he did flow on too many other beats, I’ll admit, but it’s still pretty solid showing from Lupe.

04.04.11 at 5:52 pm

Cameron G

i dont understand…its called music synchronization, everybody does it

04.04.11 at 5:55 pm

Beware

It’s the music BUSINESS.

Otherwise, it would just music for free. No, or…just music the artists can sell themselves. Wiz, BoB and Lupe could of done that. Especially those three. Each of them had/s enough of a fanbase to justify not signing…..yet THEY DID.

The argument against Atlantic is wack IMO, when – in the end – the artists knew exactly what they were getting into when they signed. MONEY and less work. AND THAT’S OK. Let them earn. Let them make millions, because truthfully….the work they put it in – between the initial grind, networking, touring, writing, recording….for years – commends that much in return. Going from Garageband to Superstar don’t just happen to anyone. These guys grinded extra hard, then decided scraps and free downloads didn’t account for the work put in….so they signed to a major to finally see a real return (Because that’s what labels like Atlantic and Interscope and Young Money do. They make money off of music…or else they go out of business).

Once signed, the artists accommodate to the paying fans and make the music you’re disregarding. Willingly. Fuck what they say about influence or whatever, they still recorded it, and knew exactly what they were doing.

I don’t agree.

04.04.11 at 7:23 pm

Jay

This is a great article. Its sad that the “fuck the label” spirit of the 90s is gone. If you look at the game today, the difference between the then and now is how rap posses work. Roc-A-Fella was a bunch of dope rappers that for all intensive purposes functioned independently of Def jam. But now the GOOD Musics and Young Money are dependent on the labels to get any push.

Btw I’m not an adult reminiscing on the game. I’m 17.

04.04.11 at 9:16 pm

ATI

You consider the Rap Wiz did on Black Yellow something of an achievement? I assume you think that as long as he is not rapping like Lil B, he rapping?

Rapping over a pop beat is hip hop? Rapping over a beat Katy Perry or Rihanna would sing over is adequate rapping? Hip hop requires more than barely rapping…..

—————–

I consider it an achievement that he got to number 1 on the pop charts with a RAP anthem. That flew in the face of everything Atlantic has been doing with hip-hop records for the past two years, which is hiding the actual rapping behind syrupy beats and faux-emotive singing. And of course it isn’t a lyrical achievement, it’s a Wiz Khalifa song.

And your attempt to compare the “Black & Yellow” beat to Katy Perry or Rihanna’s music is an incredible stretch. If the song wasn’t so popular, I would think that you just saw that Stargate produced it and were making assumptions off of that.

The point being that Wiz was fully capable of making crossover songs without needing to become a shittier/happier version of Kid Cudi.

04.04.11 at 9:59 pm

2wenty

Excellent article..basically you can’t expect any company, or investor to contribute funds without a rather reasonable return..this ain’t non profits we’re talkin about, thes are record labels and unfortunately when you sign you are expected to understand that concessions need to be made in order for them to gain revenue and you to continue to be a viable asset to said label. I bought Rolling Papers knowing it was gonna be some high fructose to if nothing else support the artist not the actually album that was created..I hate Rolling Papers but I don’t regret the purchase, it’s all about using your purchase power to add additional leverage for the artists you enjoy and eagerly Dow oaf for free..

04.04.11 at 10:11 pm

2wenty

iPad spellcheck sucks…

04.04.11 at 10:17 pm

Hassle

If Curren$y goes ‘commercial’ Ski will go gangsta shit on his ass.

04.04.11 at 10:22 pm

Stay Frosty

Always knew Wiz’ album was going to be extra buttery on the pop songs after he rapped over three Beyonce songs and a Keri Hilson song on BAR.

I think the only real difference between Lupe and Wiz with BoB is BoB was rapping with his acoustic guitar from time. As someone said above, aside from the three singles the rest of the album was all BoB. Lupe and Wiz never really made any song for their fans per se, it all sounded like something for the radio not that that’s bad but it’s not really good either.

I’m a bigger BoB fan than I am Wiz or Lupe but fan or not you seriously can’t look me in the face and say you ENJOYED RP and Lasers, those CDs are frisbees right now. And I’ll take every opportunity to shit on Lasers because people LOVE to put Lupe on this pedestial of something incredible that will make me better than the greats.

04.04.11 at 10:24 pm

2wenty

Hassle..Curren$y is a 30 year old grown ass man he has been part of 3 of the biggest self made black mogul led labels(no limit, cash money/young money and dame dash)…he has seen and learned he has a vision.. Shit he got teenagers rockin the same shit he yearned for as a youth and made it cool… He needs a Nike contract he alone brought back Jordan brand he is a monster at the covert marketing game…he’s playin chess..

04.04.11 at 11:06 pm

BukDiah

When is Muscle Car Chronicles dropping anyway? Rolling Papers was butt but Wiz gotta eat so whatever. Star of the Show is my shit though even though its an old track.

04.05.11 at 12:58 am

Gus

muscle car chronicles is coming out sometime in mid-may apparently. But judging from the leaked tracks its sounding shorter then a Pilot Talk album musically, I’m actually looking more towards the DVD that’ll be included with it.
on the topic of curren$y’s next single: its called #jetsgo. hashtag jets go. if you truly think he is trying to attack radio with this, you are not a true curren$y fan.

as for Wiz’s RP, Cabin Fever was truly supposed be be part of it. Homicide, Taylor Gang, Phone Numbers and WTF are easily substituted for the likes of Top Floor, Wake Up, Hope and Dreams and Cameras. Someone explain to me why he’s throwing Jeezy on the remix to Homicide unless it was truly gonna be on the album? One day we will hear the true genius behind wiz releasing cabin fever on a tweet…because the label said fuck off with these records.

Want to also tell people that Target does sell a deluxe album with Middle of You and Stoned as bonus tracks.

Man gtfo with all them arguments tryna to justify the foolishness that was Khalifa’s album. At least his remix of If I was a Boy and When I See You were actually good. Rolling Papers was made for teenage white girls and lames who yell “Taylor Gang” everywhere they go. I wasn’t expecting a Kush & OJ part duex, but neither was I expecting a 14 track inferior version to This Plane with acoustic guitars.

Almost everything in music these days is catered to 14 year old sweet valley high white girls.

04.05.11 at 3:18 am

xavier p

This is whats wrong with the music industry…..b.o.b is great rapper, lyrically talented and his content is great(listen to dr.aden), if you knew about b.o.b when he had nothing but mixtapes..you know what im talking about. But atlantic is the scum of record companies.i want my money back for the lasers album and just give the cash to lupe.

04.05.11 at 3:38 am

xavier p

i think the only thing that could really save the music industry would be…artist owned record labels..look what jay z is doin (j cole), Dr. Dre. Kendrick Lamar, Eminem( shady 2.0)..if i was an artist..i much rather get on a label owned by a ARTIST

04.06.11 at 6:09 pm

MINK

First of all, am I the only one that liked Rolling Papers?

So what if it isn’t a hard rap album. The album is fresh, and is backed by Wiz’s home production team. I’m sure he did some tracks to please the label, but I feel that Wiz wanted to go this way himself on this one.

Being a long-time fan, I have hundreds of hard rap songs from Wiz that he gave me for free, and I can bump at any time. This record, god forbid that it has commercial appeal, still sounds crisp and shows how much Wiz has evolved as an artist. I’ve seen him put out records like “Make it Hot”, “This Plane” and even “Say Yeah” that never had enough to garner radio play, although he definitely tried.

I disagree with this post. I truly believe that Wiz wanted his debut to go out like this, not only for the $$ and new fans but to show the everyone that his music has range.

04.06.11 at 6:16 pm

Phildren

xavier p
APRIL 5, ’11 AT 3:38 AM
i think the only thing that could really save the music industry would be…artist owned record labels..look what jay z is doin (j cole), Dr. Dre. Kendrick Lamar, Eminem( shady 2.0)..if i was an artist..i much rather get on a label owned by a ARTIST
—————————————————
Well stated. Look at Wale he was signed to Interscope, flopped with Attention Deficit, then said fck it and signed with Rick Ross. That may be the smartest move. Look at what Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Drake, and (hopefully) J. Cole are doing without completely abandoning their own style.

This was a great article by the way. Propz

04.06.11 at 10:05 pm

K.verrucci

I bet u diggy gonna make them sell! Watch! He seems like a bright kid with great lyrical ability and will build an even bigger buzz once they decide to drop his first single. Call me a dick rider or whatever but I believe in the lil nigga and i ain’t afraid to say so, that’s where atlantic gon’ win with hip hop. He gonna pull a bow wow age wise but pull a bigger audience in besides lil girls cuz his music ain’t kiddy. Mark my words.

04.06.11 at 11:29 pm

Dedxsad

this is y Indie artists (or artists that can do whatever they want (Kanye))have the best albums because they have full creative control. If i was a rapper I would rather be Indie. Not only would I have full creative control, I would get more profit off each cd sold. I’m still pissed at Lupe, what happened to never dumbing it down. I had a feeling the album would be trash, but Lupe felt so compelled to have it released. A shame since that was his first bad LP. The Cool and Food and Liquor were great. The Cool especially since it was a concept album that made sense, yes I’m looking at you Fabolous and Jay-Z

04.07.11 at 12:54 am

getbig

Wack songs like “i don’t wanna care” shouldn’t be one the album or at least with MDMA on so much of his songs. Atlantic f***** up. Even tho lasers was supposed to be a more popular album, the bulk of lupe’s songs should had a feel for somethin like “i’m beamin” or “shining down” which the label didn’t even include because they wanted a more pop sounding album. They were only added as bonus tracks for itunes and you don’t hear any songs like those on the rest of LASERS. Atlantic f***** w/ the album

04.07.11 at 5:50 am

JonnyF

You people are stupid. Of course EOTS used “recycled” beats. It was Lupe’s answer to being left off the Top 10 hottest MCs in the game. Did anyone realize most of the beats were from the artists he named in Yoga Flame?

Not only did he spit on their beats, he lyrically murdered them.

04.07.11 at 7:33 am

sensistar

Atlantic has decided to sell soft rap to emo kids.

When emo kids grow up then what. The future is already here.

Phildren: You just named three of the softest rappers in rap music.

Abandoning their style. Their style is metro sexual. Cudi, Drake and Gay Sean.

That’s what these record companies are promoting. Wale made a bad move.

He went to a fake drug dealer label when rap is getting away from that.

Selling these sythy gay tunes might work once or twice but they are setting their artists up for failure.

Well maybe not since this generation of kids seem to be more feminine than any previous.

04.07.11 at 3:23 pm

zgase

this is spot on. great post. was never a big fan of wiz, but i followed lupe and bob from the beginning of their careers, and im deeply saddened by what they’ve become. hopefully lupe will make another “real lupe album” with his next release, but im thinking like B.o.B that the old lupe is gone quicker than Lasers selling 300,000 records.

04.07.11 at 6:47 pm

bob

Everybody freeze. Think about what you posted about Lupe. EOTS was freaking great. The reason it was so short was becasue he was in high demand for some music. Lasers was put on hold for 3 years. It woulf of been out if Lupe didn’t fight for his album. He was detemined to not sell out. He needed to put out something for the fans. Is it his bes work? No, but it is still pretty impressive.

And Lasers wasn’t all the bad. “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now” was a good song. No it is not his normal beat, but keep it mind, this is an Atlantic made album. They gave him the hook and he had to do the verses based on the hook. There aren’t many ways to go with that hook and I think Lu did a great job. Only 3 songs on the album were Lupe’s. Two of them were All black everything and Beautiful Lasers. I dont know the third. I could be Letting Go or Til I Get There. Either way the album was decent. Give Lupe some credit.

I just a little old hope with his back against the ropes
Fighting for his fans and, fighting for his folks
But the boo’s from the crowd can become so loud
If I could block em out then, I could knock em out and
Dance around the ring, but until then I’ll sing

04.09.11 at 12:50 am

thashyt

Here’s something that might scare everyone: Have you ever noticed how similar Spitta’s voice is to Chingy’s? There’s one line in “Michael Knight” in particular where he sounds just like Chingy, “It’s written all over n*ggas like a dapper dan.”

When I heard he signed with Atlantic, that was the first thing that I thought of, “they gon’ make him do a Chingy song!”

04.09.11 at 2:48 pm

Dunn

Mainstream rap has to sound like this to attract the casual listeners, which are essentially the suburban kids with money. Atlantic is just trying to appeal to the kids with money, and those kids won’t listen to rap without a pop hook or dumbed down sound (usually, I’m generalizing)its the only a way rapper can make money lately.

Personally, I think GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella Records, and Stones Throw are the only labels that have put out good stuff worth listening to. They seem to be doing it the right way.

04.10.11 at 12:44 am

d33

there’s nothing wrong with artists trying to earn bread. selling an album is building a brand. this new mainstream rap with a pop blend is great for those who are interested in it…but i get where everyone’s coming from.

“show goes on” had a powerful message, and however lupe came to it, i’m glad he did.

to me, the kids was the best song on the adventures of bobby ray. b.o.b’s verses on magic were fun, much like his whole album. if you listen closely to b.o.b’s beast mode, he sorta tells of his frustration…

rap has gone far from its roots, but so long as mixtapes keep rolling everyone gets what they want.

04.10.11 at 12:31 pm

HipHopSnob

Sorry I missed this article(working like a hebrew slave)but good write-up. The only reason I listened to Rolling Papers and Lasers is because a few people asked for my opinion(since I’m unbiased)on both of those “Albums” I’m not a fan of both but I don’t dislike them either but I found both “Albums” lacking(I won’t go into detail)

04.11.11 at 2:57 am

Mike Jordan

Mad I just got around to reading this; excellent drop.

04.13.11 at 1:59 am

thestakesishigh

@thashyt
No Curren$y doesn’t sound like Chingy at all, and he’s not signed to Atlantic.